Title: Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Records, 1858-1979
ID: 01/CR49
Creator: Justice of the Peace Precinct 4
Extent: 10.4 Cubic Feet
Date Acquired: 10/29/2009
Dockets, case papers, and reports of the Office of the Justice of Peace Precinct 4. Dockets and case papers include those for civil, criminal and inquest matters.
Holdings are scattered and incomplete.
Under the Constitution of the Republic of Texas and the constitutions of 1845 and 1861, two Justices of the Peace were elected biennially from each militia captain's precinct. The Constitution of 1866 lengthened the term to four years. The Constitution of 1869 provided for five Justices of the Peace elected from precincts for four-year terms. The Constitution of 1876 provided that every Texas county was to be divided into not less than four nor more than eight Justice of the Peace precincts and that a Justice of the Peace be elected biennially from each such precinct. If a precinct included a city of 8,000 or more, a second Justice of the Peace was elected. A constitutional amendment in 1954 extended the term of office to four years.
Today, Travis County has five precincts determined by the Commissioners Court. Each precinct has one judge who is elected by the voters of the precinct for a term of four years. Each judge must be a qualified voter and resident of the precinct. Each judge operates a dual court system: the justice of the peace and small claims court. There are no statutory requirements for this office.
Justices of the Peace handle both civil and criminal cases, including small claims court, justice court, and administrative hearings. In practical terms, these are lawsuits over debts, evictions, car accidents, unlawful towing, and property.
Their criminal workload involves disposing of all class C criminal misdemeanor complaints, such as traffic citations, issuance of bad check, and others. These cases involve payment, setting contested cases for trial, and pretrial hearings with the county prosecutor.
Other duties include presiding over peace bond hearings, reviewing applications for mental health or chemically dependent commitments, conducting compulsory school attendance trials, giving warnings to juveniles required by law. They issue warrants for and conduct hearings concerning seizure and disposition of cruelly treated animals. Most JPs perform marriage ceremonies as well.
Related Materials: Related materials are located at the Austin History Center and with the Justice of the Peace's office.
Preferred Citation: Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Records, Travis County Archives, Austin, Texas.
Other Note: A map of the current Precinct boundaries can be found on the official Travis County web site.
Other URL: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/justices_of_peace/precincts_map.asp
